


Rumor Has It (bbangnyu)

by jihoontastic



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, bbangnyu, moonbae if u squint
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:35:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27317110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jihoontastic/pseuds/jihoontastic
Summary: In which Chanhee is adored by everyone, and Younghoon tries to admire from afar.
Relationships: Choi Chanhee | New/Kim Younghoon
Comments: 2
Kudos: 55





	1. One

Choi Chanhee had everyone wrapped around his little finger. When one thought about him, what immediately came to mind was glitter, the pink of his lipgloss, and his loveable personality. 

But the university was not unaware of the alleged complexity in his love life either. He was usually associated with plenty of drama. The rumors were certainly widespread; everybody had heard about his escapades with various boys on campus, how they would fall for him so easily and be helplessly under his spell. 

Chanhee was this adorable type, with a cute face and smaller frame. However, he was not only defined by his beauty; mischief lit up his eyes and he usually wore a smile that made you feel as if you were a part of his life and not just a minor role. 

In his presence, everybody else was reduced to an onlooker that could not help but admire even if he were only standing in the hall. It was hard to avoid noticing him because of how pretty he was and because he was one of the most infamous students in the whole university. 

His carefree way of life made him seem down to earth. An attractive but carefree boy. He didn't seem to care about his reputation and went on having fun at night with whoever he wanted. He was adored by everyone.

Maybe it was a consequence of his beauty or his complete indifference about what happened around him, with the exception of his own business. After all, no one could pretend to know anything about what he thought or what he liked aside from his infamous love life. That was the whole point; he was pretty mysterious. 

He was just another pretty boy, but Younghoon felt something different emanating from him. His actions by day were a rare quality in this place, and it ironically caught his attention. For all the rumors Younghoon had heard about him, he seemed to be a perfectly normal, hard-working student whenever he saw him, although he often did have some boy or another trailing after him. 

Furthermore, they had made eye contact on several occasions since the time Younghoon gave him back the book that he had dropped on the floor. 

Younghoon became used to following him with his eyes when he caught sight of him on campus and sometimes Chanhee would turn his head as if he could feel it. When it happened, he slightly smiled at him and Younghoon felt a bit confused about his gaze. He seemed to be more and more beautiful as the days passed. 

Younghoon had learnt a few weeks earlier that his name was Chanhee, and realized that it sounded familiar; it was mentioned sometimes by his new roommate Kevin, who was Chanhee's friend. He heard that he had many love affairs and was suspected of having several at the same time. But he still fascinated the whole campus and Younghoon failed to understand precisely why. 

Despite everything, he could not help thinking about him. He was definitely this "boy you'd die for" that people often referred to him as, for a large part of the students, he thought. But when he looked at him, he felt this je ne sais quoi that confused him. 

Day by day he became more obsessed with this boy. He was a little ashamed of it, but had accepted the idea that he had developed a crush on him. He tried to fight it because of the helpless situation, but the feelings came back again and again whenever he saw him in a crowd. 

However, he didn't want to do anything about it. 

They lived in different worlds, with different people, and he didn't even know anything about him, except that he was cute and that he had rumors going around about him. Younghoon intended to let it go and tried not to have any illusions about him until it ended. 

He tried.


	2. 2

"Boo!"

"What the hell-" Younghoon groaned, falling off the couch, clutching a handful of one of the cushions where it felt like his heart was about to burst out. He been taking a nap after classes and wasn't expecting to be woken up. He didn't remember what he was dreaming about but knowing him, it was probably about a certain someone.

When he turned over, he saw that the voice that so rudely interrupted him belonged to his roommate, Kevin.

"Woah. I seriously scared you that much?" He stated the painfully obvious, moving until he was hovering just beside him on the floor. 

"Kevin? I thought you finished later today." he said breathlessly, still panting from the shock as he tried to catch his breath. 

"My last class was cancelled, ...but that isn't the point. I came to tell you that me and some friends are gonna get together later tonight. Wanna hang?" 

So he wanted him to hang out? Younghoon brushed his hands through his bedhead for a second as he thought. He did need to start socializing a bit more. But he wasn't that close with Kevin's friends, and being in the middle of them would just be flat out awkward. 

But he had to look past that. Maybe it wouldn't be as awkward as he thought it would? Besides, he had met some of them in passing, and they weren't so bad.

"Sure, why not?" Younghoon heard himself say after a while of just being stared at uncomfortably by Kevin's expectant gaze.

"Great. Tonight at 8. I'll text you where it is. Anyways, I'm gonna go get ready with Chanhee. See you, Hoon!" By the end of his sentence, he was already halfway out the door.

Chanhee? As in... Chanhee Chanhee?

Younghoon had a lot of getting ready to do. 

But what was he getting so ready for? They were just going to hang out. Why was he so worried about what he was going to wear all of a sudden? If they were just going to hang out, they wouldn't care how he looked. Younghoon knew that. But he didn't know why he was treating this like it was a big deal. In the end he decided to change out of his sweatpants into jeans and a hoodie.

A few hours had passed and Younghoon was standing outside of what he guessed was one of Kevin's friends' dorms. He watched the clock on his phone anxiously as it read 7:59. 

8:00.

Younghoon quickly raised a fist to the door to knock on it, significantly more anxious than he was at 7:59. A moment passed before he was greeted by Kevin. When the door opened, he could hear the bass of some loud music playing, and what sounded like much more than just a few friends hanging out. This was a full-on party. 

"Oh, Younghoon! You showed up! Come in," Kevin said in his usual lively voice. 

"You said this was just-" Younghoon began to back away from the door.

"Oh come onnn," Kevin said, grabbing Younghoon by the arm, "How else was I meant to get you to come?"

Kevin took him inside and closed the door behind him. He was definitely dressed for a party, which made Younghoon wish that he had made more of an effort with his own outfit.

"You could've at least told me so I would know what to wear." 

Kevin glanced back at him.

"You look fine. Besides everyone's too drunk to care."

He beckoned Younghoon to follow him to the living room. As they approached, the music got louder, and they could hear the buzz of people packing the room.

This definitely wasn't the crowd that Younghoon usually hung out with, though he did recognize a few faces here and there.

Especially him. Chanhee.

He was smiley and bubbly as always, and had the kind of laugh that made you smile in involuntarily in response. Younghoon had often thought about starting a conversation out of the blue, but he had never been able to make himself do it and the timing had just never quite been right.

Chanhee was with his usual bunch of friends none of who's names had stuck in his brain. The only friend of Chanhee's he knew by name was Kevin, but for some reason Kevin didn't really seem to be part of that 'clique'. 

Younghoon had been sneaking glances at him, playing the scenario of himself going over there and trying to join the conversation over and over, for the last twenty minutes. He hesitated, first because he just didn't have the courage, and secondly because that Chanhee appeared to be having a good time, and he didn't want to make anything awkward by just butting into the conversation.

He decided just heading closer to the group couldn't hurt. 

"I'll be right back," Younghoon told him, getting up.

"Finally," Kevin said, with a scoff.

"What's that?"

Kevin tore his gaze away from his phone screen to level Younghoon with an unimpressed look. 

"You've been eyeing Chanhee for half an hour. Not to mention all the eyeing you've been doing for weeks."

"Have not," Younghoon denied, weakly. 

"I'd say to go for it, you're pretty good-looking. He really isn't into that guy that's been chasing after him recently, he told me earlier."

Younghoon frowned.

"Then what makes you think I'd be any different?"

"Can't hurt to try."

Younghoon scoffed.

"Yes it can. Besides, I'm fine admiring from afar."

"You make it sound like he's Rapunzel or something."

Younghoon rolled his eyes and didn't bother responding. He averted his gaze over to where Chanhee was. Turns out he'd waited too long to make his approach anyways, as there was now a guy next to Chanhee, obviously flirting. The universe had evidently decided that his interest in Chanhee must be thwarted at every turn.

Younghoon's eyes drifted back to Chanhee occasionally, without consciously meaning to look at him. He didn't warm up to the other guy immediately, his expression more polite than interested. But his friends started nudging him and side-eyeing them and Chanhee wavered, eventually accepting a drink.

Chanhee got up to go to the bathroom, and Younghoon watched as one of his friends, a girl, tipped a tiny sachet of powder into his drink and then winked at the guy Chanhee had been talking to. The guy smirked.

It didn't immediately occur to Younghoon what they were doing, and he went back to trying to enjoy the party. 

Younghoon's attention was drawn back to Chanhee when the sound of bubbly laughter broke out over the noise of the music. The guy Chanhee had been speaking to was helping him with his coat. Chanhee was unsteady on his feet, leaning heavily on the table, and the guy was wearing a smugly pleased expression that did not sit well with Younghoon.

He was out of his chair and making his way toward them without a second thought, or a word to Kevin. He ignored the guy completely, focusing on Chanhee, as he asked him if he was alright.

"M'fine," Chanhee mumbled in response. He was swaying, and his skin was flushed and his forehead was damp. It was cold out and the room was in no way warm, so Younghoon was even more certain that something wasn't right.

Chanhee's companion attempted to elbow Younghoon out of the way, but he wasn't budging.

"He's fine, bro. Just had a few too many. I'm going to take him home. I'll tuck him in nice and tight." he finished with a smirk.

Younghoon fought the urge to strangle him. 

"He's not fine," he said sternly. "And you're not taking him anywhere."

"This isn't any of your business, dude. Back off."

Younghoon took a deep breath, and forced himself to be calm. He grasped Chanhee's upper arms and steered him towards a chair, not letting go until he was settled into it. He stepped in between him and the guy.

"I'm making it my business. I saw that girl roofie his drink for you."

The guy looked guilty for a second before replying.

"I- I don't need to drug anyone. Besides, he's easy anyway. Eveyone knows how much he sleeps around, he'll take any guy he can get." 

Kevin had wandered over in time to catch the end of that conversation. He stepped up next to Younghoon and joined him in evil-eyeing the belligerent guy. 

The guy's eyes narrowed, and he glanced back and forth between Younghoon and Kevin, before grabbing his coat and leaving along with the girl who had spiked Chanhee's drink, muttering something about cockblocking doucebags as he stalked away. 

Younghoon turned back to Chanhee, who was slumped over with his forehead on a table. He crouched next to him and only vaguely heard Kevin say he was going to go puke since he had drank a little too much.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Don't feel good," Chanhee mumbled, rolling his head to the side so he could look at whoever was talking to him.

Gently, Younghoon brushed the hair out of his eyes.

Chanhee looked up, and saw that the voice belonged to a guy who he vaguely recognized. His first instinct was to say that he was fine, just to make the guy go away, but for some reason, he couldn’t say it. He blamed the alcohol. It made his brain stupid and fuzzy.

"Do you remember me? I'm Kevin's roommate."

His face creased in deep concentration and his eyes were unfocused on Younghoon's, 

"Kind of. You're blurry."

"Let's head outside, get some fresh air, okay?" Younghoon said, helping Chanhee to stand up and leading him towards the door. 

Once there were outside, he sat Chanhee down on the ground and texted Kevin to meet them outside.

"That girl you were with, she put something in your drink. Isn't she your friend?" Younghoon asked.

"She… She's…"

That was all Chanhee managed to stutter before a sob escaped him, and he started crying. He never cried in front of anyone, and he felt extremely embarrassed. He wished he had never come to this stupid party.

Younghoon slid down to sit next to him, and tentatively pulled him in for a hug. The alcohol or whatever it was in Chanhee’s body would not allow him to react normally, and he found himself leaning into the embrace, letting tears soak Younghoon's hoodie.

"What’s wrong?" Younghoon's asked in a mild voice, rubbing Chanhee’s back.

Chanhee tried to gather himself and wiped the tears quickly.

"It's, umm… I don't think she likes me... I... I don't think any of my friends really like me..", he murmured in a shaking voice. Younghoon nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Y-You wouldn’t understand... they all act nice and... and... and then they make fun of me, or start rumors about me, or take advantage of me... and I c-can't even tell the difference anymore."

He wiped away his tears again but they kept coming.

"Even if you don't think I'll understand," Younghoon said, "I'm a good listener."

Chanhee didn’t answer, he just looked down at his lap.

"But if you don’t want to talk about it, that's fine. We can talk about something else."

After what seemed like hours of awkward silence, Kevin stumbled out of the door, hanging onto the arm of a guy Younghoon hadn't seen before. 

"Oh hey! Younghoon, Chanhee, this is Jacob, the guy whose dorm this is. Anyways I just wanted to say no need to wait up, I think I'm gonna stay a little longer." He said, grinning.

Younghoon rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Okay, sure, whatever." he replied as Kevin and Jacob made their way back inside.

Younghoon turned back to Chanhee and helped him up. He stumbled to his feet and would have fallen flat on his face if Younghoon hadn't caught him and helped him to lean against the wall.

"Where's your dorm?"

Chanhee barely registered the question, as his head was pounding. Younghoon asked again and Chanhee muttered an address.

"You're gonna walk me?" Chanhee asked, leaning against the wall, trying not to shiver too hard at the feeling of the cold air. He closed his eyes again, praying to god he didn't vomit in front of Younghoon, who was flushing at his open suggestion.

"I-I don't know. I wouldn't want you to, like, hurt yourself or anything." he shuffled his feet, looking down at the ground, and Chanhee stared at him, before pushing away from the freezing wall and practically flinging himself onto Younghoon, almost clinging to him. Younghoon struggled for a second, before grasping his waist hesitantly.

The journey wasn't too long, but it was longer than it should be. Younghoon was stronger than he looked, as he was making good progress, although he was breathing sort of heavy. That might've also been because of the fact that Chanhee wasn't exactly helping. He was really out of it with Younghoon practically carrying him.

They finally managed to get to Chanhee's front door, where they stopped.

"I hope you have keys?" Younghoon asked, and Chanhee fumbled in his pockets until he found them.

He couldn’t get it in the lock, though, so Younghoon did it for him. 

Chanhee heard Younghoon’s footsteps go from concrete to a creek of a door, and a moment later stepping soundly on the wooden floor. He heard Younghoon fumble a little as he struggled to then close said door, but soon enough they were moving again, though not for long before he felt himself being lowered onto a soft surface, presumably his bed. 

Chanhee squinted, struggling to see through the drunken blur and darkness of the room. Younghoon began to tug off Chanhee's shoes and Chanhee blinked harder before making out his face in the dim light.

"Are you feeling a little better now?" Younghoon asked as he looked at Chanhee with concern. Chanhee's brows knitted together as another wave of pain whirled through his head and he let out a whimper. 

"I'll go get you some water, okay?" And with that, he headed to the kitchen. 

He returned with a large glass of cold water in his hand to find Chanhee already fast asleep. 

He didn't know how long he sat for after that, just that at some point under his careful gaze - he'd never call it staring, staring implied that he'd be unable to look away, and Younghoon was certain that he could, honest - Chanhee's brow scrunched up and one of his arms began to move, a hand sleepily patting through the covers as if searching for something.

It was a moment of weakness, Younghoon had never done something like this in his life and after this he swore he'd never do it again, but he slowly reached out one of his hands and tentatively set it within his reach, not initiating the contact himself but not out-right refusing it either. 

When Chanhee's fingers brushed over the back of Younghoon's hand he settled and pulled his hand further towards him, clasping it a bit awkwardly in between his two palms, an unfairly content hum interrupting the semi-rhythmic buzz of his faint snores.

Younghoon swallowed dryly, and then again when that didn't give him any sort of relief. His heart was threatening to burst out of his chest. Younghoon squeezed his eyes tight and tried to focus on ridding his face of the strawberry-red color he was certain was all over his skin. It worked to some degree - he no longer felt like a tomato, more of a peach-color now - so he slowly opened his eyes to peek at the mess of fluffy hair poking out from beneath the covers.

This time it was only a minute, nothing more, before he began to feel restless and jittery, and he threw a glance over to the clock on Chanhee's nightstand. It blinked back at him, 01:53. Younghoon huffed through his nose and turned his attention back to the boy who was oh-so-affectionally clinging onto his hand. It was almost sickening, really, Younghoon mused thoughtfully as he reached with his free hand to feel the bedhead sticking out beneath the thick blanket.

Younghoon's heart felt like it was falling down a flight of stairs.

This was dangerous, Younghoon thought faintly, if he woke up during this apparently never-ending moment of weakness… well, he’d rather not think about it. Instead he opted to cease his moment of weakness and tentatively remove his hand from Chanhee's grasp. 

He got up from sitting on the edge of the bed and silently left, making sure to close Chanhee's front door slowly so he didn't wake him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for making this chapter so long lol i kinda got carried away


End file.
